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Despite the devaluation causing headaches across the sector, demand remains high for new ICT technologies, both from individuals and businesses.

YAROSLAV VINOGRADOV

Country Manager

Philips Kazakhstan

Overall, it was challenging year. A strong start in January was followed by the event on February 11 that induced us to make new plans for the new reality. The devaluation that took place has definitely affected both the B2C and B2B sectors. Moreover, given the historically strong relations we have with Russia, the situation there has also impacted overall development. Nevertheless, thanks to corrective measures, strong relations with partners, and, first of all, the dedication of every team member, we secured our leading position in the B2C segment and realized a number of important projects in the B2B area. Here, I'd like to especially underline the positive dynamics demonstrated by the healthcare team. This year we are going to fight to win back market share, sales, and reinforce our position in the market. For instance, we suffered some headwinds in kitchen appliances. It is not possible to win all the battles, and this is why we do not prioritize.

YOONSOO KIM

President

Samsung Electronics Central Eurasia

Penetration rates compared to the population is in the range of 170% to 180%, but that's based on active SIM cards, which means that some people might not have mobile phones, but some people might have three or four SIM cards. The smartphone penetration rate is still growing. It's still less than 30% according to our statistics. This means that many feature phone users are still migrating to smartphones. This became a major trend last year and this migration will keep continuing, maybe for another two or three years. We are heavily focused on the smartphone market to move basic phone users to smartphones. In terms of 2015, we intend to strengthen our position in the enterprise market and continue our leadership in the Kazakhstani consumer electronics market by introducing new products that will further push the boundaries of innovation and bring new experiences to our consumers, enriching their lives. We will stay true to our commitment of bringing meaningful innovation and inspiring experiences to consumers by introducing new groundbreaking products.

VLADIMIR MALEEV

Head

Xerox representative office in Kazakhstan and Central Asia

In my opinion, the interest in ICT in Kazakhstan is quite high. Dealing with a wide range of representatives from various branches and sectors in Kazakhstan, we are convinced of this. And this is not just the interest of window shoppers. It is absolutely clear for everyone that it is impossible to organize effective management and production processes without modern ICT, and this applies to both commercial and government organizations. We, as a company that has traditionally been at the forefront of innovations, clearly feel the challenges of the market and try to meet the expectations of our existing and potential customers and partners. A feature of Kazakhstan is that the local market craves innovation. Acquisition and continuous updating of knowledge, including ICT, is a priority for the representatives of the market. In turn, we, as the representatives of one of the largest technological corporations, use our experience and knowledge to make this happen.

SVETLANA ANISIMOVA

General Manager

Cisco Kazakhstan

The IT sector is growing quickly in the country. There is a lot of investment in IT infrastructure projects because the government and state bodies understand the importance of IT. The Ministry is also supporting a lot of initiatives, and we have had a number of talks with local institutions about the future development of the country. Nazarbayev University is playing an important part in these activities as well. Cisco initiated its presence in Kazakhstan when the first Russian office was set up. After that, the value and potential in the market became even more apparent, so the local office was set up. We have a lot of people working here and we continue to hire. There are two offices, in Almaty and Astana. We see Astana as a point of growth, so we continue to invest heavily in the capital. Our future is there. An important part of our activity here over the last 10 years has been the establishment of Cisco Academies. This is innovation in the sense of education. We teach teachers, and we support them with teaching materials. This allows universities to offer courses to students and issue Cisco certificates.